Almost everybody is hurting as pandemic restrictions take their toll upon the economy. Private sector workers have been facing layoffs, work reductions, and pay cuts all year. Public sector workers have remained shielded from these economic realities so far. That may change soon as public sector wage cuts are being proposed by the Alberta government. One well-compensated group which has been sliding under the radar as we re-examine compensation levels in the new economy has been the executives in big labour..As the Western Standard recently reported, AUPE boss Guy Smith has been pulling in nearly $300,000 per year in salary and benefits. Along with Smith, a swath of other union executives were pulling in packages in the $200,000 range and higher. Nice work if you can get it, particularly in such trying times for the working class..Union executives make their money directly on the backs of the workers that they claim to represent. Dues are taken from every union member’s hard earned cheque and a portion of those dollars go directly into the pockets of the union executives. While nobody is expecting union executives to work for free, but it is not unreasonable to expect public disclosure of just how much these privileged members of the union are taking in. It shouldn’t take a leak in order to find out..In Manitoba, Bill 16 is currently before their legislature. It is a bill which would reform the Labour Relations Act of their province. One of the clauses in that act is a call for disclosure of compensation for public sector employees who are compensated more than $75,000 per year. A big labor “sunshine list” in other words..Unsurprisingly, union bosses in Manitoba are quite upset about the bill. If compensation for their executives is reasonable though, what should they have to fear? Should not those paying their bills be entitled to know how much it is?.Union dues are tax-deductible. That puts that money into the realm of public disclosure. This applies with the tax-deductible status of political contributions and it should apply with union dues. Those are our dollars and we all deserve to know who is pocketing them in the end. If unions do not want public disclosure, then they should forgo public subsidy..We will be entering a period of austerity when the pandemic finally winds down, that is, if governments have any sense of fiscal reality. Government spending increases have been explosive and are unsustainable. Public sector unions will surely be fighting against any spending restraint..As they represent their members in the working class, the union leadership will have a much stronger leg to stand on when they can openly disclose and display how much they are personally earning. It will likely take some legislative encouragement to ensure that these executives disclose just how many dollars from union dues enter their personal pockets..Having a labour executive sunshine list as Manitoba is proposing will do the trick. It’s time for Alberta to follow suit..Cory Morgan is the Podcast Editor and a columnist for the Western Standard.,
Almost everybody is hurting as pandemic restrictions take their toll upon the economy. Private sector workers have been facing layoffs, work reductions, and pay cuts all year. Public sector workers have remained shielded from these economic realities so far. That may change soon as public sector wage cuts are being proposed by the Alberta government. One well-compensated group which has been sliding under the radar as we re-examine compensation levels in the new economy has been the executives in big labour..As the Western Standard recently reported, AUPE boss Guy Smith has been pulling in nearly $300,000 per year in salary and benefits. Along with Smith, a swath of other union executives were pulling in packages in the $200,000 range and higher. Nice work if you can get it, particularly in such trying times for the working class..Union executives make their money directly on the backs of the workers that they claim to represent. Dues are taken from every union member’s hard earned cheque and a portion of those dollars go directly into the pockets of the union executives. While nobody is expecting union executives to work for free, but it is not unreasonable to expect public disclosure of just how much these privileged members of the union are taking in. It shouldn’t take a leak in order to find out..In Manitoba, Bill 16 is currently before their legislature. It is a bill which would reform the Labour Relations Act of their province. One of the clauses in that act is a call for disclosure of compensation for public sector employees who are compensated more than $75,000 per year. A big labor “sunshine list” in other words..Unsurprisingly, union bosses in Manitoba are quite upset about the bill. If compensation for their executives is reasonable though, what should they have to fear? Should not those paying their bills be entitled to know how much it is?.Union dues are tax-deductible. That puts that money into the realm of public disclosure. This applies with the tax-deductible status of political contributions and it should apply with union dues. Those are our dollars and we all deserve to know who is pocketing them in the end. If unions do not want public disclosure, then they should forgo public subsidy..We will be entering a period of austerity when the pandemic finally winds down, that is, if governments have any sense of fiscal reality. Government spending increases have been explosive and are unsustainable. Public sector unions will surely be fighting against any spending restraint..As they represent their members in the working class, the union leadership will have a much stronger leg to stand on when they can openly disclose and display how much they are personally earning. It will likely take some legislative encouragement to ensure that these executives disclose just how many dollars from union dues enter their personal pockets..Having a labour executive sunshine list as Manitoba is proposing will do the trick. It’s time for Alberta to follow suit..Cory Morgan is the Podcast Editor and a columnist for the Western Standard.,
